Things you see at 4:00 am

Like many of my friends I work nights and thus I have the misfortune of being awake for a lot more hours than most people and get time to think and write accodingly. These are just reflections on the curent state of everything I have an opinion about.

Friday, June 06, 2008

The Glock Hype

Ok I am slowly introducing a coworker to the world of hand gun ownership and he is buying into the hype of the Glock. I personally don't care for them but I don't want to let my bias influence his decision too much. I gave him the advice of hold a bunch of different guns and decide which one feels the most friendly in his hand what points naturally and fits comfortably. I don't know whether or not he has done this but he has told me that he has it narrowed down to Glock and the Springfield XD. The hasn't selected a caliber yet. He asked my if the Springfield was able to fire with a barrel full of sand or under water like the Glock. Now I have heard that the Glock is capable of doing this, but I am not sure if this is nothing more than Hollywood hype and rumor. If anyone out there knows if it is A. true and B. Whether or Not the XD's are capable of this please let me know. He is also asking for a magic one shot one kill caliber bullet combo, but we all know it is shot placement more than anything else in that department.

Sunday, June 01, 2008

Talked himself into a felony

Today I sprained my ankle while apprehending a felon who thought they could assault me. Like my prior post his clothing was an issue and like my friend I was too close to him when he tripped on his own sagging pants and took me with him more than likely this is where I sprained my ankle. Unlike my friend this individual got up and started running again with me in hot pursuit. He had broken into a car and stolen a portable CD player, this was only a misdemeanor. During the pursuit he started grabbing fist sized rocks out of the ornamental rock beds and throwing them at me eventually contacting with the third. Needless to say this didn't sit well with me and after he worked his way through a fence he turned to throw rock number 4. Unfortunately for him I had closed the gap the rock throwing had created and as he turned he got a 2 to 3 second blast from my Mace (I have been requesting a pepper tear gas combo for a while to no avail) can. Now I am not a genius but you have to be pretty stupid to try to run while blind he promptly ran into the corner of an open door. This enabled me to get enough time to get through the fence and get him on the ground. I then told him if he would cooperate with me I would get his face rinsed off. So he let me cuff him without any struggle and I drug him back to the street for the car to come pick him up. While we were sitting there he asked about getting his face rinsed to which I replied, "Well you hit me with a rock so you can !@#$ing suffer till a squad gets here." Maybe not my most professional moment but I was understandably peeved.

Ready for the good part the victim of the theft didn't want a report or to press charges, so if he hadn't run he would have walked instead the idiot got himself a felony assault charge; Which will look really good next to his 8 prior robbery convictions. I will take a minor ankle sprain if it means getting a shithead like that off the streets again.

Friday, May 30, 2008

Either I am getting more sadistic or adjustments are needed...

I have been to the range a couple of times in the last two weeks and have a report on how the new Gun handles. First of all the lesser recoil and longer sight radius make for a beautiful handling gun all around everyone else that has shot it has had no issue getting bulls eye's with it. That being said the only issue as of right now that needs correcting is my double tap. I seen to get a nice center mass shot off on the first one then the follow up seems to routinely hit the crotch area of the silhouette. So I have either gotten subconsciously more sadistic or I need a little more practice.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

How do they stay in business?

Ok those of you who know me probably have heard my various Gander Mountain stupid employee horror stories but I have a new one.

Today I wandered in to a Gander Mountain store to price ammo and just sort of browse in general. So as I wandered to the back counter I passed a display of the 250 count Remington UMC bulk pack on sale for $64.99 for the 9mm, hmmm that seemed a little steep to me to be a bulk pack and a sale price. So I proceeded to the counter where the pistol ammo has been at this particular store for at least the last 3 years and asked the lady about the prices of 9mm. She looked at me as if I were a simpleton and stated that it was labeled below the boxes, to which I replied, "Well where are the boxes." and she just pointed behind me to where on my last visit the High Power rifle ammo had been kept. So I made the comment, "Oh it has always been behind the counter in the past. Thanks I'll find it." So I wander back to aisle and there are signs above the ammo to divide it into sections, instead of a simple Rifle, Shotgun, Pistol labeling it goes along the lines of Water fowl, Big game, Varmint, and Safari. I really wish I was making the last one up.

So I wander down the big game section, since I figured that pistol ammo wouldn't be in Water fowl, and the first thing I saw in big game was .17 HMR, odd I didn't know that it was capable of taking down big game and what is this next to it .22 Long Rifle . Yeah their heads are that far up their butts. At this point I notice that the lady from the counter seems to be following me, probably because I am such a shady character. So I finally find the pistol ammo and after a few seconds of inspection I start laughing and the lady asks if there is a problem to which I reply, "Yeah you expect people to pay these prices." and walked out of the store.

Seriously they were charging $13.99 for Winchester white box almost anywhere else that tops out at about $9.99 and Wolf Steel case some of the Cheapest ammo on the market was priced at $9.99, slightly more reasonable but still. I mean really their customer service sucks their prices are ridiculous and they are almost always in a shopping plaza with a Walmart that sells ammo as well. So I went to the Walmart and bought a 100 round bulk pack of Winchester white box for $19.00.

If they were smart...

There is an old saying "If they were smart they wouldn't be criminals." I was Looking at the forums on Gunbroker and it brought up a memory about one of the stupider criminals I have encountered to date.

It was about midnight on campus in mid to late fall my partner and I were unofficially riding with an officer buddy of mine when a guy with no shirt sagging blue jeans and untied work boots ran past us being followed by several other people who informed us that he had just attacked them on their porch for not giving him some beer. He apparently had not seen the cruiser and had stopped less than 1/2 a block away in an alley. So my buddy was able to find him in a few seconds and get out of the cruiser and approach him on foot before he decided to bolt.

Too make a long story short the combination of baggy pants untied work boots and loose gravel resulted in a very fast apprehension. Unfortunately he made it a few steps first and my buddy was practically on top of him when he fell taking my buddy with him. My buddy scraped his knee, the criminal scraped everything from the waist up and spent the night in jail. I had to spend the next hour or so filling out witness statements and getting grilled by the zones Lieutenant to make sure it wasn't police brutality. All because he couldn't tie his shoes or wear a belt.

Saturday, May 10, 2008

XD gear Concealed Carry review

The last two nights I have come home from work and weighed the two options I have for my carry piece and both nights I have taken my XD 5" Tactical is 9mm and the gear system that came with it opposed to my Taurus PT-145 .45 ACP and the leatherBianchi holster I have for it.

First of all there is the comfort and concealment issue The XD with a full magazine is lighter than the Taurus and both are both double stacked Magazines. The XD is also has a slimmer grip than the Taurus, so it does not print as badly as the Taurus. As for length the Taurus can be concealed easily with a longer and slightly baggy t-shirt. Where as the XD is long enough that the muzzle is even with my pants pocket or a little past it. So the edge in this category goes to the XD because it is lighter and does not print as badly.

Next is a comparison between just the holsters. The holster that comes with the XD is molded plastic deal that has a tension screw as its only retaining device. Also it has what essentially boils down to a single large belt loop designed for a 1 1/2 " belt that doesn't really work all that well with my normal 1" belt so it has a tendency to move on my belt. This makes it necessary to loosen the tension to almost non existent to draw the gun without it getting stuck in the holster. Whereas the Bianchi holster has a thumb break and has two slots for my 1" belt and can be anchored relatively easily by putting a belt loop from my pants in between the two slots making movement on my belt almost non existent. So the edge here gos to the Taurus and the Bianchi holster.

Next is the Magazine holders. Despite looking very awkward the XD double magazine holder is the best I have ever come across despite the 1 1/2" belt loops like the Bianchi holster it is possible to put a belt loop from your pants in between the loops on the holder and anchor it preventing travel. I have as of yet to find a good mag pouch or holder for the Taurus so this one is going Hands down to the XD.

All in all the XD gear takes the cake. If I can find an 1 1/2" belt i don't think I will have too many issues at all. That being said don't judge Taurus too harshly finding any aftermarket products for a Taurus specifically in a gun store is next to impossible instead you have to find a generic size that fits several different guns or magazines so the XD has a slightly unfair edge there and once it gets too hot for multiple layers of clothing I will probably be exclusively be carrying my PT-145.

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

New Gun

I picked up a new gun today. A Springfield XD 9mm 5" tactical model. All in all I am very satisfied with my purchase. I even saved $90, however I had to get the Dark Earth colored frame to save the money Unfortunately the color bears a striking resemblance to dog poo. I walked out of the store with Gun and the XD gear kit that comes with it a third Magazine and 5o rounds of Speer Gold dot 124 grain for under $550 all in all not a bad day.

Things you see at 4:00 am

Like many of my friends I work nights and thus I have the misfortune of being awake for a lot more hours than most people and get time to think and write accodingly. These are just reflections on the curent state of everything I have an opinion about.